Start-up at CF’s Donaldsonville

CF Industries today announced that its Donaldsonville ammonia plant is now operational.

This new ammonia plant is about six months late and perhaps 10% over budget, which is hundreds of millions of dollars, as I explain in my Research Note for Donaldsonville, LA.

The new ammonia plant … started-up in September 2016, and has now achieved consistent, stable operation over the nameplate capacity of approximately 3,600 [short] tons per day. The plant has produced more than 50,000 tons of ammonia since start-up …

It is the largest ammonia plant by nameplate capacity in the world, sharing that distinction with three ammonia plants in Saudi Arabia.

“The start-up of the new ammonia plant signals the completion of our Donaldsonville capacity expansion project,” said Tony Will, president and chief executive officer, CF Industries Holdings, Inc. “With all three new plants from the expansion running consistently at or above nameplate capacities …”

With the commissioning and start-up of the new ammonia plant, the Donaldsonville complex is now the largest nitrogen facility in the world.CF Industries press release, 10/26/2016

This news follows hot on the heels of Dyno Nobel’s announcement, last week, about the handover at its ammonia plant at Waggaman, LA. Neither of these plants was supposed to be the first to become operational in this current industry expansion: we’re still waiting for news of progress from OCI’s greenfield at Wever, IA, which was originally supposed to start up in mid-2015.